Winter FunFest is fun and festive

Fun, festivities and the smell of chili was in the air Wednesday night. January 16 marked the 2008 edition of the Annual Winter Fun Fest at Rose-Hulman, hosted in the Union Lobby by the Hulman Union Office.

The event was multi-faceted, with activities to interest most of the campus. These events included the chili cook-off, craft making, bingo, Snowstorms, and cookies with milk. The chili cook-off was a heated race, between thirteen teams of four cooks each. The teams were required to pre-make their given chili and then bring it to the Union Lobby, in hopes of stunning and impressing the entire campus with their flavor of chili. Those who came to the event were given the chance to sample the chili and then vote on which chili impressed them the most, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. According to Brandon Finnan, a junior electrical engineer, “This is a great way to broaden your chili horizons.”

Students flocked out to try the Rose-Hulman specialty, “Snowstorms.” With a line that wound through the lobby during the hour serving time, droves of students flocked in for a chance at a new dessert. From 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the ARA staff took part in this event by creating a Blizzard-or-McFlurry-like dessert, offering M&M’s and Oreo pieces as additions to their ice cream treat. Students were also able to satiate their palates throughout the entire evening with the warm cookies and cool milk being offered from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Bingo was a hot item of the night, bringing in dozens of students who gathered around to win various prizes ranging from food to the iconic penguin used to advertise the Winter Fun Fest. The chance to win many prizes appeared to draw in a crowd, just as the rest of the event had been able to do. Bingo took place in the Kahn Room from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Junior electrical engineer Kevin Beals put the night in perspective by saying “The Winter Fun Fest is a spectacular way to spend an evening with free food and friends.